The Symbol
by BulldogChica
Summary: Roxie has been told for years that she was different from other kids. But she never knew that there were more like her until she turned sixteen. Now Roxie must face the challenges ahead to find out what it means to be who she is.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N **

**So this is my first time writing for a huge amount of people like this so please let me know how I do! Any tips you guys would have for me would be greatly appreciated as well! I will try to update as often as I can! Enjoy!**

Chapter-1

The lamp on the kitchen table flickered as I shoved more supplies into my pack. I can't believe it was just yesterday that I received a strange letter. There wasn't even an address or anything on the envelope. Just my name, Roxanne Sanders. The letter talked about how there were people with strange glowing marks on their arms and how they are being hunted down and killed and that I am to leave my home and meet with a group of rebels who want to protect them. I glance down at my shoulder and looked at the small swirling mark on my arm. I never knew what it was or why I had it. All I was told was that I must keep it hidden at all times because its dangerous to have it. The floor upstairs creaked and I quickly covered my arm back up as Alex came down stairs. Alex was Cindy's son. Four years ago they found me barely alive because a squad of militia came and killed my family and beat me because of the mark on my arm. They dumped me on the side of the road and left me to die. I push back the tears of that day and continue packing as Alex entered the kitchen.

"Where do you think your going?" He questioned as he picked up my flashlight.

"I'm going to spend the night at Sarah's house." I lie. I can't stand lying to Alex after all that he and Cindy have done for me but I have to. If anyone finds out where I'm going I might as well say hey I'm different come and kill me! Alex nods and puts my flashlight back on the table before going back upstairs. I put the last of my stuff into my pack and sling it over my shoulder as I walk towards the back door trying not to wake up Cindy too. I opened the door and took my first step outside. My first step to a new life.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter-2 

At the top of the hill in the backyard I turn around and look at my home for the last time. All of a sudden memories of my family wash over me. Memories from before Cindy and Alex found me. Those were the good days. The days before everything went wrong. I push the memories to the back of my mind and bring the task at hand to focus. The letter said that I would find more people like me in a clearing in the woods. I turn back around and start walking in the direction of the woods. Sounds from crickets chirping and leaves crunching beneath my feet are the only things that break the silence of the night.

Up ahead I saw a flashlight and heard two voices coming towards me. I quickly slipped into the brush that was off the path I was on and waited in case they were militia who were patrolling the area. I crouched lower as they were a few feet away from me. Sure enough, they were two militia soldiers. After they pass and are out of sight I left my hiding spot and continued towards the clearing. I looked up at the clear night sky and the moon above. After walking for a few more minutes I saw the edge of the clearing. I quickened my pace as reached the edge. As soon as I reach the woods I'm on my own. As soon as I reached the clearing I saw maybe twenty other teens who looked to be around my age, maybe older. I walked over to a middle aged man who was holding a clip board.

"State your name. You just left the life you knew behind so you can start over if you choose." He said in his deep voice. I thought for a minute before I made my choice.

"Call me Roxie."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter-3 

"Alright Roxie. Go and introduce yourself to some of the others while I check in the stragglers." The man with the clip board said. I nod and walk over to a group that was laughing at something one boy had said.

"What's your name?" Asked a boy with blonde hair.

"I'm Roxie." I answered. "What's yours?" The boy laughed as if I should already know him, but I don't. I've never seen any of these people before yet we all have been living in the same area of the city.

"I'm Mason" he replied. Then he pointed to the rest of the group. "And this is Jake, Ali, and Connor." Jake and Ali were twins with orange hair and freckles. They smiled and waved when Mason said their names. Connor was on the other side of the group. He had is arms crossed with is dark hair hanging in his eyes and smiled as if he recognized me. We all turned around when the same man who checked me in blew a whistle. We all gathered around him to see what was going on.

"Alright recruits. Those of you who are wondering who I am my name is Adam and I will be escorting you all to the Base Camp. You all have a symbol of some sort that glows on your arms. Those symbols represent a special skill or talent that you possess. For that reason you are known as The Skilled. At Base Camp you will learn what your skill is, how to use it, and how to hide it. Now all of you get your things and follow me to a caravan of trucks that are waiting to take you to Camp." We all picked up our things and jogged to keep up with Adam. Up ahead I saw three military trucks that could fit six of us. Mason, Jake, Ali, Connor, and I all climb into the back of the front truck. We all threw our stuff into a pile in the middle. As soon as the rest of the trucks filled up the engines roared to life and began to move. Ali and jake were talking about what they thought camp would be like while Mason and Connor fell asleep on their bags. I decided that I would do the same as them and used my bag as a pillow and drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter-4 

I awoke to the sound of screeching breaks. I don't know how long I was asleep because it had felt like such a short time yet the sun was coming up.

"C'mon Roxie!" Squealed Ali "We're here!" I stood up and slung my bag over my shoulder and walked towards the exit along with the rest of the group still on the truck. I hopped down from the edge and jogged over to Ali and the others as Adam blew his whistle to quiet us all down.

"Welcome to Base Camp. Behind me is where you guys will be living and learning about your skill for the next month. All of you be trained on what your skill is and how to use it. To my left is the living quarters, behind me is the cafeteria, and to my right is the training room. Now all of you go to the living quarters and prepare yourself for your first day." When he finished we all started for the large brick building that towered above us in the sunrise. Inside there were several floors spiraling downward. Each floor had hallways branching off that were lined with doors to different apartments. At the bottom was a large room filled with beds for the newcomers like us. I walked into the room and headed towards a bed by Ali's and sat down. I reached into my bag and pulled out a picture of Cindy, Alex, and I standing in their front lawn and placed it under my pillow and began unpacking my things into the drawers of the table beside my bed. Ali walked over from her bed and sat down on mine.

"Are you excited to finally know why we have these symbols on our arms?" She said pointing to a jagged mark that glowed pink on her arm.

"Yeah." I replied, " I want to know why the militia are hunting people like us down and I want to put an end to it." I finished unpacking and slid my bag under my bed.

"Lets go get some breakfast." Said Ali as she grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter-5 

We walk out of the living quarters and head across the courtyard to the cafeteria. Upon entering the cafeteria the aromas of all of the food surround us. Ali and I start across the crowded room full of people towards the line where people are serving food. We stood in line for what seemed like forever to get our food because we were so hungry. After we get our trays full of food we start to look for a table to sit at. Ali and I spot a table where Mason, Jake, and Connor were laughing at something that Mason had said. Ali walked faster to go sit with them and I follow. We sit down and quickly eat the food piled onto our trays without saying a word to any if the boys. When we finish eating we all started to go to the training room to begin our first day. Once outside I realized that Ali and the others weren't beside me like they were earlier. I turn around and bump into someone who was behind me.

"Sorry." I said, "I should have been watching where I was going." That someone I bumped into was a boy who looked to be about eighteen, two years older than me. He had dark hair and he was a few inches taller than me.

"No biggie." His voice was deep but not as deep as Adam's. "I'm Gage, what's your name?"

"Roxie" I replied. I looked around and spotted Ali's red hair across the courtyard. "I better get going."

"Okay then." He said, "Maybe I'll see you around sometime?"

"Maybe." I replied. Turning around and jogging to catch up to Ali and the others and I do by the time the reach the training room.

"Where have you been?" Ali asked. She must have realized I was gone.

"Oh I was talking to someone. Nothing major." I answered as we walked through the doors of the training room.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter-6

The training room was set up with several different obstacles like targets, large weights, and flaming rings. Adam stood in the center of the room in front of the crowd of teens and began to give instructions.

"Welcome to the training room. Today each of you will learn what your Skill is by performing a series of tests which will reveal your skill to everyone. To my right are the ones who will be watching you perform these tests." I look at the line of people. Gage, the boy I bumped into earlier was among them. His eyes catch mine and he smiles a little. Ali saw this and nudges me with her elbow.

"Watch as he's your supervisor" whispered Ali. I rolled my eyes at her and continued listening to Adam

"Now then there is a list posted on the wall over there with your name and the name of your supervisor. Go look so you can begin." Explained Adam. We all ran for the pieces of paper on the wall. Ali and I were in the front of the pack so we got there first. Ali found her name on the list of names and left to find her supervisor. After she left I moved my finger up and down the list of names searching for mine. After a few minutes of searching I finally found my name and next to it was the name Gage Ballister. I smiled a little at the fact that we already knew each other from when met in the courtyard. I turned around and fought my way to the edge of the crowd so I could begin learning what my skill is. I jogged over to where Gage was standing along with the rest of the supervisors. Gage began to walk towards me as I got closer and smiled.

"I told you I'd see you around." He said, "Where do you want to start?" I looked around the massive room. I didn't know where to start. I looked up at Gage and said "How will I find my Skill the fastest?" He laughed and said,

"Not doing these obstacles. They take forever to reveal your skill." He grabbed my arm and started to pull me towards a door in the back of the room, "I'll show you how to find and use your skill quickly."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Sorry if this chapter is super short. I was trying to keep it interesting haha. Please review and tell me what you think!**

Chapter-7 

Gage led me down the hall and past several doors until he stopped at the last door. There was a sign on the door that said "Exam Room 3". He pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and selected a small silver key and unlocked the door. Inside there was a chair like the ones at the dentist's office and a desk with a computer on it.

"Have a seat" Gage said as he sat down at the desk and booted up the computer. I walked over to the chair and sat down while watching Gage open up different programs and files.

"How did you learn how to do this?" I ask Gage as he gets up from the computer and starts to stick monitors to my head, arms, and legs and plugs them into a machine in the corner that starts to beep in rhythm with my heart.

"When I was new like you are my supervisor did this exact same thing with me and showed me how to do it when I became a supervisor." He replied as he plugged in the last of the cords. He walked back over to the desk and pulled out a syringe with a weird liquid in it. "Now after I inject you with this the program will start and you will be put into a simulation putting you through several tests that will bring out your skill." He glanced at the symbol on my arm which was glowing a dim blue.

"Are you ready?" I nod as he injected the liquid into my arm. After Gage takes the needle out of my arm everything begins to go fade out and get fuzzy at the edges. "Good luck Roxie." His electric blue eyes are the last thing I see before I go under and the simulation begins.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter-8 

When woke up I found myself in a room with white walls and a black floor. Across from me was a man with a ski mask on so his face was hidden. I felt my muscles tense as he walked up to me and grabbed me by the shoulders.

"Your gonna pay for what you did!" He screamed as he pulled a hand back and punched me in the stomach. I fell to my knees gasping for air when he kicked me in the side. I slowly stood up and wiped the blood from my mouth. The man looked at me and prepared to hit me again. I ducked below his punch and elbowed him in the face. He put one of his hands I his face and groaned. I hit him again in the stomach and he fell to the ground. Before I could land the final blow the man disappeared and the room went black. I stood still waiting for someone else to attack but nothing happened.

When everything lit back up the room was gone and I stood behind a fallen truck. I walked around the truck and saw a war taking place in front of me. A boy who looked to be about nineteen ran up to me and handed me a gun and told me to go fight. I noticed that he had a mark on his arm. I looked around and saw that he as everyone else around me is Skilled. I ran behind a barrier and started shooting in the direction of the oncoming bullets. To my right a girl who looked to be my age was hit in the chest and fell to the ground screaming. I stood up to help her but before I could do anything a searing pain shot through my leg. I looked down and saw blood staining my jeans. I ducked back down and crawled over to the girl. But it was too late. A grenade flew over my head and exploded as soon as I covered myself with a car door that was nearby.

Everyone around me was either dead or wounded. I ripped the sleeve of my shirt off and tied it above my gun wound and slowly crawled over to the boy who gave me the gun a few minutes ago. I checked for a pulse and found nothing. Then I realized that I was still being shot at and threw a grenade that was on the ground over to the enemy side. The gunshots stopped and everything got fuzzy again and I blacked out.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter-9 

My eyes shot open and I sat up breathing heavily. Gage was behind the desk staring at me. I don't know what he saw while I was under the simulation but I don't think it was pretty. He got up and unplugged the monitors and peeled them off of my head and arms.

"So what happens now?" I asked as he unplugged the last of the monitors. "Now we wait a minute for the program to calculate your results and they will tell us what your skill is." He said as he pulled the chair from behind the desk and sat down next to me. I looked down at the swirling symbol on my arm and saw it was glowing a brighter blue than before. I wonder if that means my Skill has been revealed.

"What's your Skill Gage?" I asked. Gage looked at me for a minute before giving me his answer. 

"When the time is right you will see, right now we should be focused on what yours is." He smiled. I looked at the marking on his arm. It was more jagged than mine and it glowed bright green. I jumped a little when the computer started to beep.

"That means the program has found what your skill is." He said as he stood up from his chair and walked over to the computer and typed a few things in before he looked up at me and said "No matter what your skill is it doesn't change who you are or who you will be. Do you understand?" My heart began to beat out of my chest as I nodded in the chair waiting for Gage to read me the results. He hit enter and stared at the computer screen in shock for a moment before opening his mouth to speak.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter-10

"What do you mean I have two Skills?" I asked as I got up from the chair and walked behind the desk to see two lines.

"I don't know how it's possible but you do. It's only happened a few times and those who do can control them extremely well." He answered looking at the computer then at me. I turn my head to look at him.

"Well what two Skills do I have?" Gage looked back at the computer and scrolled down to a graph with two bars that were much larger than the rest.

"You are Skilled with survival and fighting. That's an amazing combination Roxie." He said turning back to face me.

"Well now what?" I asked while walking across the room.

"Now," he said, "we go and let you master your skill back in the training room." He got up from the chair and started toward the door with me close behind. Once in the hall, Gage locked the door and we walked back to the training room where the rest of my friends were. About halfway down the hall Gage stopped and turned to face me and said,"Now that you know what your Skills are you will be able to pick out things that relate to them." He turned back around and we kept walking. Gage opened the door to the training room and the first thing I saw was the corner with the weapons. Pistols, rifles, bows, and a boxing ring. My heart began to race at the sight of all of this. I think this is what Gage meant by I'll be able to pick out things relating to my Skills. I walked over and picked up a pistol and aimed it at a target, my finger just over the trigger. I took a deep breath and steadied myself before I pulled the trigger. The recoil of the gun wasn't bad but it shot my arms up a little. I lowered my weapon and saw that I hit the target dead in the center. I aimed and emptied the rest of the clip into the target. The rest of the bullets were extremely close to the first one I shot. I put the fun down and started for the ring. Mason was having a hard time fighting his supervisor. After a few more minutes Mason gave up and left the ring followed by his supervisor and Gage and I hopped in.

"Now Roxie just because you know your Skills doesn't mean you can't practice other things." Said Gage as he threw the first punch which I blocked.

"I know." I said throwing one back which was blocked by Gage but then I used my leg to swipe Gage's feet out from under him. He landed flag on his back laughing.

"You're really good at this for just learning your Skill" he said as he stood up rubbing the back of his head. Just then Adam blew his whistle and told us all to go get some rest. I met up with Ali at the door and walked back to the room where all of us were sleeping and went to bed.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter-11

When I woke up in the morning I was the only one in the room full of bunks. Everyone must already be in the training room. I quickly got ready and ran up the eight flights of stairs and out the door. When I entered the training room everyone was already training with their supervisor. Gage was standing at the entrance waiting for me with his arms crossed. He was tapping his foot impatiently.

"You're late." He said was I walked up to him. I looked down at my shoes.

"I know." The two of us walked through the hall and back to the room where I went through the simulation program and Gage began hooking monitors to the machine again while I sit in the chair.

"There was something I noticed yesterday after your test that is concerning me." He said as he picked up a syringe of the same liquid from before. "Not only did your results show you had two skills, but half of the results didn't even register into the program. I downloaded a new program into the computer that should help with that because the one from yesterday was from when I was first tested. That was 3 years ago so it's not as accurate, but this new one will actually scan your DNA and use it to construct the simulation." I nod as he sticks my arm with the syringe and presses the plunger down. "Just do what you would normally do." Said Gage. My eyes got heavy as I slipped into the new simulation.


End file.
